Ethiopia, France Signed Military Cooperation

Ethiopia and France signed agreements of military cooperations in defense capacity building yesterday March 12, 2019, in Addis Ababa.

In the presence of Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of Ethiopia and Emmanuel Macron, President of France, the agreement is signed by Ayisha Mohammed, defense ministry of Ethiopia and his counterpart Florence Parly, Minister of Defence of the French Republic.

The agreement which signed today is one step to establish a privileged partnership between France and Ethiopia said the two leaders in a joint statement after the signing ceremony.

“Ethiopia wants to build a strong naval and air force, ” said Abiy adding today’s agreement will help the two nations work closely in the sector.

After holding bilateral discussions, the defense ministers of the two countries have signed the agreements which mainly focusing on capacity building of human resource development and peacekeeping missions.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Ethiopia Yesterday 13, 2019, for a two-day state visit to Ethiopia.

During his visit, President Macron met with President Sahle-Work Zewde and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed for talks on bilateral and regional issues of mutual benefit to the peoples of the two countries.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Emmanuel Macron visited the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In a visit to France in October 2018, the French President had assured Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that France would provide necessary support to restore the churches.